FRLeaving your pet in someone else's care: boarding, sitters and the sheet to leave behind
Going away without your pet? From booking to coming home.
A problem while you're away? 514 223-1197 during our hours; outside them: a 24/7 emergency centre.
Sitter or boarding?
Most cats find staying home with someone you trust less unsettling than boarding, though a confident cat can do well in a carefully chosen facility. For dogs, it depends on the dog: many find kennels isolating, and group play does not suit every dog.
- A boarding facility: visit it, right down to where your pet will sleep, and check that the staff ask about your pet, want proof of vaccination and know where they would take a sick animal. For a cat: no contact with cats from other homes.
- A sitter: meet them at home with your pet, have them try the keys and line up a backup.
Time alone, and who is never left alone
- Several days alone: no, cat or dog. A healthy adult cat can be left alone for a day now and then. Beyond that, someone comes in at least twice a day or stays overnight; otherwise, it's boarding. A dog, though, is only left alone for a few hours (day to day: Manage separation anxiety).
- Never left alone: kittens and puppies; a pet treated for diabetes, who needs his treatment on time and someone to see him eat; a dog with separation anxiety.
- Talk to us before you book if your pet has just had anesthesia or surgery, takes a medication at set times (epilepsy, Addison's disease), is a cat that has had a urinary blockage, or is elderly or in end-of-life care.
The vaccination certificate
Each organization sets its own requirements: which vaccines, and how far in advance. Ask for them when you book, then check them against your pet's certificate. The rabies vaccine, for example, is recommended, and proof may be required by a third party.
Request the certificate through the Documents form (opens in a new tab): allow 1 to 2 business days; it is sent by email. A booster coming up? Call us early: a vaccine is prescribed after an exam.
The sitter sheet and the wallet card
Fill out one sheet per pet, on screen or by hand, and print it for the fridge: meals, habits, prescribed medications, who to call, when to rush to the vet. Go over it with the sitter. Nothing is sent or saved. Name the person who can make care decisions if you can't be reached (see the frequently asked questions).
The wallet card says your pet is home alone and who to call; it does not authorize any care.
While I'm away: the sitter sheet
Thank you for looking after
Sheet filled out on
Give no human medication and no other medication found in the house: only the prescribed medications written here, as their label says.
Where to go. During the clinic's opening hours: Hôpital Vétérinaire Métro Iberville, 2525 Jean-Talon East, 514 223-1197 (Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; closed on December 25; closed weekends and holidays). Outside those hours, evenings, weekends and holidays included: the nearest 24/7 emergency centre, name ______, address ______, phone ______ (list at montreal.vet, 24/7 centres page). Describing the situation on the phone commits you to nothing. After a fall or a blow, a seizure, a loss of consciousness, very laboured breathing, retching with nothing coming up or bleeding that won't stop: straight to the 24/7 centre, at any hour.
Go now, one sign is enough (a cat travels in his carrier, without forcing him; call ahead on the way):
- He strains, in the litter box or outside, and nothing comes out or only a few drops. If he was straining and has stopped without anything coming out, that is not an improvement.
- He is breathing with effort, or fast while lying quietly, or with his belly heaving on every breath; or his gums are bluish, grey or very pale (a late sign: do not wait for it); in a cat, open-mouthed breathing at rest is enough (handle him as little as possible).
- He keeps trying to vomit and brings up almost nothing, especially if his belly is swelling; or he is losing a lot of blood; or his stools are black.
- In a cat, any two of these together: not eating, vomiting, diarrhea.
- He collapses, cannot stand, has a seizure (never put a hand in his mouth), or is limp, cold to the touch and barely responds.
- He fell from a height (balcony, window) or was hit by a car, even if he seems fine.
- He may have swallowed, licked or chewed a poison, a human medication or a lily, even its pollen or the vase water (cats): do not make him vomit, bring the packaging; or a thread is hanging from his mouth or anus: never pull.
- He is a kitten or a puppy who is not eating, vomiting repeatedly, going limp or has diarrhea (puppies: with blood or vomiting).
- He is being treated for diabetes and is weak, trembling, staggering, seems lost or is unusually sleepy; or he is eating less and is vomiting, breathing fast or his breath smells oddly sweet.
- He is being treated for Addison's disease and stops eating.
Call the same day, tonight if it is evening (during clinic hours: the clinic; outside them: the 24/7 centre written above):
- An adult cat refuses a real meal: call at the first meal refused; never more than 24 to 48 hours without eating.
- The dog refuses food completely.
- He is vomiting repeatedly, or his diarrhea lasts more than 24 hours, has streaks of blood or comes with vomiting; in a puppy, any diarrhea.
- He is coughing and is flat, feverish, eating poorly or the cough is getting worse; or he is a puppy or an older dog who is coughing.
- He is being treated for diabetes and is eating less or vomits his meal, with no other sign: call before giving his treatment, even in the evening.
A cough with no other sign, or a cat hiding more than usual but still eating: note it and call the clinic when it opens; if a sign above appears, follow its instruction. A coughing dog stays away from other dogs.
- name
- age
- weight
- distinguishing marks
- recent photo
- microchip: number, registry
- health, allergies
- proof of vaccination kept
- meals (what, how much, when)
- fresh water every day
- litter box or walks
- goes out:
- windows and balcony, my instructions:
- hiding places
- what is normal for him
- what scares him
- the carrier is kept
The dose and how often come from the label; I only write the time of each dose here.
| name on the label | time of each dose | kept | one box per dose, ticked with the date and time |
|---|---|---|---|
Only one person gives them. How to give a pill: montreal.vet, Giving oral medication guide.
For any medication, unsure about a dose (missed, vomited, given twice): never double the dose, do not decide on your own to skip it or give it again, and call (during clinic hours: the clinic; outside them: the 24/7 centre written on this sheet).
Diabetes: Follow the veterinarian's written instructions, attached to this sheet.
- 1. Me:
- phone
- where I'll be and time zone
- back on
- 2. If I can't be reached, the person with a key:
- 3. Backup:
- Person authorized to make care decisions for my pet if I can't be reached:, phone,
Check on the pet itself, not just the bowl: if he doesn't show up, look for him (basement, closets, dryer). Scoop the litter box and note whether you find urine and stool.
Tell me right away (I will report the loss to his microchip registry), then: montreal.vet, Microchip page, My pet is lost.
Go now (Where to go, on this sheet) and bring the packaging. Then: montreal.vet, Toxic foods and dangerous plants guide, its printable fridge sheet.
Nothing you write here is sent or saved. Do not write an alarm code or a key hiding place here.
montreal.vet · Client guides
Un animal m'attend à la maison · My pet is home alone
En cas d'accident ou d'hospitalisation, dites-le au personnel soignant et appelez une des personnes au verso. · If I am hurt or in hospital, please tell the care team and call one of the people on the back.
Chat(s) / Cat(s) :
Chien(s) / Dog(s) :
1.(a une clé / has a key)tél.
2.tél.
Ma clinique / My clinic : Hôpital Vétérinaire Métro Iberville, 514 223-1197 (heures d'ouverture seulement / opening hours only)
Consignes complètes : sur mon frigo / Full instructions: on my fridge
À jour le / Updated
When you get back
- Coughing (dogs). It can start several days after boarding or daycare, and it is contagious: keep him away from other dogs and call before you come in, telling us where he has been (Deal with incessant coughing).
- Appetite (cats). A boarding stay can give a cat a cold or put him off food, but that is no reason to wait: call at the first real meal refused, never more than 24 to 48 hours without eating (My cat stopped eating).
- Diarrhea. Stress can trigger it; the usual guidelines still apply (My dog has diarrhea, My cat has diarrhea).
- The litter box. If your cat strains and nothing comes out, or only a few drops, go now.
Outside our hours: a 24/7 emergency centre.
No home medications
The sitter gives only the prescribed medications written on the sheet; when you get back, nothing from the medicine cabinet.
Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Fatal to cats, even a single tablet. There is no safe dose. In dogs it is dangerous too, and it is not a painkiller for them. If your pet swallowed any, it is an immediate emergency.
Ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen (Aleve), aspirin
Toxic to dogs and cats alike: digestive ulcers, kidney damage. Cats are even more sensitive to them than dogs. Never a human anti-inflammatory, for any reason.
Leftover prescriptions and another animal's medication
Same apparent problem, same weight, same household: none of that is ever enough. What relieves a dog can kill a cat, and a dose calculated for another patient is not a dose.
Frequently asked questions
Can my cat stay alone for two or three days with an automatic feeder?
The sitter says my cat is barely eating. Can it wait until I'm back?
My cat has been hiding and not eating much since I got back: when should I worry?
Can my sitter get my pet treated if I can't be reached?
What if I'm the one in hospital?
Also worth reading
This guide is a home-care support tool. It does not replace personalized advice from your veterinarian. For any questions, contact us at 514 223-1197.
Updated October 16, 2026
Leaving soon?
A vaccine, a treatment, an older pet: let's talk before you book a sitter or boarding.